


Leave a Message

by ahsokaa



Category: Avengers: Infinity War - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 10:25:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14518443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahsokaa/pseuds/ahsokaa
Summary: Ned struggles with the loss of his best friend(Or, four times Ned's calls go unanswered, and the one time Peter calls him)





	Leave a Message

1. 

“Peter, are you okay?” Ned whispers into the phone receiver. He tries to tune out the noise around him, the voices of his classmates yelling and laughing on the crowded bus. “I can’t see you anymore.” He squints out the window, looking as far out as he can. Yep, nothing. The sky has gone completely back to normal, almost as if there hadn’t been a giant spaceship up there just minutes ago. No sign of Spider-Man, either. “I caused an awesome distraction, by the way. No one saw a thing. You’re welcome. I guess I’m just a great friend.” 

MJ appears suddenly, taking a seat next to him. “Gotta go, talk to you later,” he says and abruptly hangs up.

“Talking to your boyfriend?” MJ asks and Ned rolls his eyes at her.

“He’s not my boyfriend and you know that.”

“Yeah, but he could be,” she shoots back. “He’s into you.”

Ned blushes. “You don’t know that.” MJ gives him a look that says,  _yes, I most certainly do,_  and his face turns even redder.

“Whatever,” he mumbles. “The time isn’t right. I’ll tell him eventually.” And he will. Really.

2. 

_Hey, this is Peter, I can’t get to the phone right now, but leave a message and I’ll call you back,_ Peter’s voice says cheerfully in his ear. He hears a faint beep.

Ned hasn’t seen his best friend since the day before, when he ditched the field trip to go stop a spaceship or something equally awesome from taking over the earth. He’s excited to finally hear all about it.

Peter hasn’t been answering Ned’s text or calls, but then again, the other boy is notoriously bad at responding, something Ned teases him about constantly. So he stops by unannounced, like he’s done countless times, a box of Legos and a few DVDs stuffed in his backpack.

“Hey, I’m on my way up. I want to hear all about yesterday. Was Iron Man there? Did you see aliens? Did they try to lay eggs in your chest?” He shudders at the thought of the movie they’d watched a few weeks ago. “Get ready to be bombarded with questions because I have  _soooooo_ many. See you soon.”

Ned takes the stairs up to Peter’s apartment two at a time. He uses the spare key Peter gave him to open the door, calling out in greeting as he enters. “Hey, May, is Peter back yet? He was so awesome yesterday, he just jumped right into action, it was cra-”

And that’s when he notices that she isn’t alone. Tony Stark is standing with her in the kitchen, and Ned can’t take his eyes off of the man. Not because it’s Tony Stark- although, wow,  _Tony Stark-_  but because of his appearance. He looks way less put together than Ned has ever seen him on TV or in news articles, with his hair wild and dark bags underneath his eyes. He looks like he may have been crying. May doesn’t look much better next to him- in fact, she looks worse, with tears streaming down her cheeks and the most heartbroken look in her eyes. 

That’s when he knows something is wrong. Something is really,  _really_  wrong.

“What’s going on?” Ned finally manages, and his voice sounds small even in his own ears.

Neither of them say anything.

“Where’s Peter?” he says, a little louder this time.

May looks at him and opens her mouth to speak, but she can’t, because she’s crying again- hard this time, harder than he’s ever seen an adult cry.

“Somebody tell me what’s going on,” he all but yells, but he thinks he already knows, and the tears start pouring from his eyes.

Tony Stark looks at him sadly. “I’m sorry, kid, he’s- he didn’t make it. I’m so sorry.”

And it’s like time slows down when he hears those words. He starts sobbing, screaming at Tony words he barely registers, and May is pulling him tightly to her and running a soothing hand through his hair as they both cry.

It feels like the world is ending. Maybe it is.

3.

There’s a small funeral service a week later. Not many people attend, Peter didn’t have many friends, and May is the only family he had left. A few kids from the decathlon team come though, and he’s surprised to see Flash among them. He wants to turn to Peter and make a joke about the overpriced suit the other boy is wearing, but then he remembers where he is. He remembers Peter’s gone.

Ned sits with May. He doesn’t want her to be alone. He doesn’t want to be alone, either.

The service ends quickly and leaves Ned feeling even more empty inside. Some of his classmates try to talk to him, to ask if he’s okay (of course not, how could he be), but he brushes them off quickly. He just wants to go home and back to bed. Not that he can even sleep. 

He always dreams of Peter- of his smile, his laugh, of what could have been. He replays moments over and over in his head, moments when their friendship almost became something more, but didn’t. And it’s painful,  _too_  painful, so he stops sleeping all together.

His mom tries to talk to him when he enters the apartment, but he ignores her, silently taking off his shoes and hanging up his coat. He feels so drained. 

Ned shuts his bedroom door behind him and slides to the floor. He rips off his tie and throws it across the room, then buries his face in his hands. 

He doesn’t know how long he sits there for, but it feels like hours. He finds himself pulling out his phone and dialing Peter’s number, like he always used to do when he was sad. The sound of Peter’s voice on the answering machine makes him smile, if only for a second. 

“Hey Peter, it’s me.” Ned swallows, pausing for a moment. “Your funeral was today. That’s so weird to say out loud. I just can’t stop thinking about you. Everywhere I look, I see you.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Do you remember when we first met? When you sat next to me in 5th period science back in middle school? You looked so nervous. But then I complemented your  _Star Wars_  shirt (it was a really cool shirt, by the way), and your face just... lit up. And then you made some stupid joke about Jar Jar Binks and I knew right then I wanted to be your friend more than anything. I wanted to see your face light up like that again, or hear your laugh one more time. I’d never had a friend like that before. I thought you were the coolest person ever. I still think that.” Ned wipes away some stray tears and lets out a frustrated sigh. “I miss you. I’d do anything if I could just... see you again.” He’s crying so hard now he has to hang up, completely incapable of forming words.

He falls asleep on the floor. For the first time in days, he doesn’t dream. 

4. 

Ned doesn’t know why he does it the next time. Maybe he needs closure. Maybe he’s just lonely. He dials Peter’s number one last time. He doesn’t answer, of course, and Ned waits for the beep that lets him know it’s started to record his message.

Ned lets out a shaky breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Hey, Peter. Ugh, I don’t know why I keep doing this, calling you when I know you’re- you’re not going to answer, or ever hear this. I missed your voice, though. It scares me that I’ll never hear it again.” He’s crying now, tears pouring down his face. “It’s just not fair, you know? You are- were the best person I ever met. It’s not fair that you’re gone, and we’re still here. It’s not fair.” He lets out another sob. “I really loved you, okay? I can’t believe I never got the chance to tell you that. I wanted to tell you so many times, or just kiss you, but something always stopped me. And I thought, ‘there’s always next time’. But now there isn’t a next time. And it sucks. It really sucks. And I miss you. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop missing you.” He takes another deep breath, and wipes away some tears. “I’m proud of you, though. For being brave, for being kind. Not a lot of people could do that, and not just because of the spider powers, but because you were special. Are special. You’re my best friend, always. Please don’t ever forget that.” He pauses, because the next words are so hard to say he can barely manage them. “Goodbye, Peter.”

He hangs up, and wipes away his tears.

+1

Ned sits alone in his bedroom. It’s a Tuesday night, his first day back at school since- well, everything. He’s trying to finish his pre-cal homework but it’s hard to focus. They  _won._  The Avengers did it. Things are slowly going back to normal. Of course, he knows deep down things will never be normal again. Not all the way.

He startles when his phone starts vibrating next to him. He picks it up, and nearly drops it again when he reads the screen.

_Incoming call: Peter Parker_

His hands are shaking as he presses the accept button.

“Hello?”

Silence. A ragged breath.

“Peter, is that you?”

It sounds like he’s crying. “Yeah, Ned, it’s me.”

He jumps to his feet, knocking over his laptop and binder in the process. They tumble to the floor with a crash. “Oh my god, where are you? Are you okay? I want to see you.”

“Look outside.”

Ned runs to the window, almost tripping in the process.

And there he is.

Sitting on the fire escape is Peter Parker.

Peter climbs through the window and immediately pulls him into a tight hug. Ned wraps his arms around the other boy. “Oh my god, it’s really you.” There are tears in his eyes as he pulls back to get a good look at Peter.

“What the fuck happened? Are you okay? Where were you? Everyone thought you were-”

“I got your messages,” Peter interrupts, as if he can’t wait another second.

“Oh,” is all Ned can say.

And then Peter is kissing him deeply, pulling him close as he wraps a hand around Ned’s neck. Ned kisses him back with just as much passion, cupping Peter’s cheeks in his hands gently.

They break apart after a moment, staring at each other and breathing shallowly. 

“Did- did you mean what you said? Do you really love me?” His eyes are so full of sincerity and hope that more tears spring in his eyes.

“Yeah, I do. I totally love you.”

Peter laughs, delighted. “I totally love you, too. I can't believe I almost didn't get to tell you that.” And he pulls Ned into another kiss. 

“I have so many questions,” Ned says later, as they sit cuddled together on his bed. He absentmindedly runs a hand through Peter’s messy hair, just as another reminder that he’s here,  _he’s really here._  

“Later,” Peter promises. “I’ll tell you everything.” He laces their fingers together. “Right now, I just want to be with you.” 

Ned smiles and kisses his cheek. Because after everything they’ve been through, that's more than enough for now. 

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on tumblr @gaynedleeds. come say hi!


End file.
